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Background

The Bronson Reel Co. began manufacturing fishing reels in 1928 at 505 N. Douglas St. in Bronson, MI. Employees made their own dyes, tools and fixtures in a machine shop. They also did their own plating and anodizing. In 1963, the company was purchased by Bronson Specialties. Production of fishing reels declined and was discontinued in 1968. Although plating operations stopped at that time, metal tooling and other manufacturing operations continued until the early 1990s. (more...)

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Site Updates

September 2014

The Superfund site and the North Bronson Former Facilities are in various stages of investigation and cleanup:Operable Unit 1--A cleanup plan, or record of decision, was signed in 1998 Former Bronson Reel Facility Record of Decision (PDF)(62pp, 119K)to consolidate contaminated soil into one area of the western lagoons, dredge sediment from the county drain and combine them in that area, and to construct a wetland to treat groundwater from the lagoon area. This plan was modified in 2008. North Bronson Industrial Area Explanation of Significant Differences (PDF)(12pp, 926KB) After working out design-related technical issues, five companies responsible for the contamination submitted a new work plan to the EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in 2013. A revised work plan was submitted to EPA and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Modifications to the original groundwater cleanup plan may be addressed in the future by issuing a record of decision for the groundwater and industrial sewers (NBIA OU2).

Operable Unit 2 (for the NBIA Site) —This area consists of groundwater and an industrial sewer used to transport liquid waste to the lagoons. MDEQ investigated the sewer from 1996 to 1998. The site owners and EPA agreed to clean up upstream source area "abandoned facilities" prior to evaluating and possibly starting work on the industrial sewerTechnical Memorandum Industrial Sewer Investigation (PDF)(153pp, 5MB).

Former Bronson Reel Facility (OU1 for the NBFF site) —A record of decision was finalized in 2006 Record of Decision (PDF)(42pp, 4.3MB) that requires deed and groundwater-use restrictions be put in place because of concerns about possible groundwater contamination.

Former L.A. Darling Facility (OU2 for the NBFF site) —A record of decision finalized in 2008 Former L.A. Darling Facility Operable Unit 2 Record of Decision (PDF)requires that contaminated soil above the water table be excavated and the city prohibit the use of groundwater to allow commercial/industrial use of the property. A temporary groundwater cleanup plan using technology called air sparging and soil vapor extraction to remove volatile organic compounds was also included. This groundwater approach is an interim solution because groundwater contamination from the L.A. Darling Facility may overlap with contamination from other sources. A cleanup plan to address combined underground areas of contamination will be issued as a separate decision document in the future. L.A. Darling completed the first phase of this cleanup in 2013 as required under a June 2011 legal agreement. This system is expected to be effective in removing contaminants for about two years. If needed, a second phase would be used to address remaining groundwater contamination.

Former Scott Fetzer Facility (OU3 for the NBFF site)-- The former Scott Fetzer facility may contain metal and solvent contamination in soil and groundwater. In a 2009 record of decision Record of Decision (PDF) (143pp, 8.6MB), the EPA selected a cleanup approach for the facility similar to the L.A. Darling cleanup plan (see above). The plan requires partial excavation of contaminated soil above the water table, soil vapor extraction of volatile chemicals in soil, and a city ordinance prohibiting the use of groundwater to ensure continued commercial/industrial use of the property. Similar to L.A. Darling, this groundwater approach is an interim cleanup because it will not necessarily address the entire underground area of contamination since it may overlap with contamination from other sources. If necessary, a cleanup plan to address combined areas will be issued as a separate decision document in the future. Fetzer is currently designing the cleanup under a 2013 legal agreement called a unilateral administrative order. This cleanup is expected to be completed by 2016.